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Frankie Avalon
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From All Movie Guide: One of the more talented members of the "Philadelphia school" of rock-n-rollers, Frankie Avalon was the reigning teen singing idol from 1958 through 1960. Devotees of American Bandstand will hold affectionate memories of such Avalon top-tenners as "Gingerbread" and "Venus." Avalon made a gradual transition from singer to actor beginning in 1957. He successfully essayed supporting roles in such films as Guns of the Timberland (1960) and The Alamo (1960) before starring in a string of inexpensive but moneymaking "Beach Party" flicks for American-International. As his film stardom eclipsed in the early 1970s, Avalon returned to singing, briefly starring in the 1976 nostalgia-oriented TV variety series Easy Does It. In 1987, Frankie Avalon was reteamed with his "Beach Party" leading lady Annette Funicello in the retro film musical Back to the Beach (1987), which he ... co-produced. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Frankie Avalon is 65. For 55 years, he has been an entertainer. As 10-year-old Francis Thomas Avallone growing up in South Philadelphia, he was a trumpet prodigy. ("A guy recently told me he just bought one of my old 78 RPM records -- 'Trumpet Sorrento' -- on e-Bay. Paid $45," Avalon says. "It would have been 79 cents when it first came out.") Then he became a teen idol.
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Born in Philadelphia, Frankie Avalon had his early trumpet playing career end abruptly when a family friend Bob Marcucci heard him sing and signed him to a recording contract. His first song " De De Dinah" became a smash hit and his recording of "Venus" was one of the biggest selling hits of the era. He had many follow up hits such as "Bobbysocks to Stockings A "Gingerbread," "Just Ask Your Heart," "A Boy Without A Girl". Avalon is ... credited with having the last number one record of the 50's with "Why" reaching that status in December 1959.
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Frankie Avalon scored his first top ten hit as a teenager with "De De Dinah" and his first number one hit with "Venus" in 1959. The hits just kept coming with "Bobby Sox to Stockings," "Just Ask Your Heart," "Gingerbread" and "Why." A regular on the most popular television shows in the 1960's, Frankie ... performed in more than thirty movies including the popular 60's Beach Party movies, "The Alamo," "Voyage to the bottom of the Sea," "Grease," and reuniting in 1987 with Annette Funicello for "Back to the Beach." After entertaining audiences for more than 55 years, Frankie continues to perform internationally on his own as well as in the highly successful show "The Golden Boys."
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Teen idol Frankie Avalon was originally a trumpet-playing prodigy when, at age 18, he joined a group called Rocco and the Saints (which then included neighbor Bobby Rydell). He began making appearances on local television, and in 1958 his debut single, "DeDe Dinah," was #7. Through the late '50s and up until 1960, Avalon had six Top 10 hits: "Ginger Bread" (#9, 1958), "Bobby Sox to Stockings" (#8, 1959), "A Boy Without a Girl" (#10, 1959), "Just Ask Your Heart" (#7, 1959), "Venus" (#1, 1959), and "Why" (#1, 1960). He was a regular on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, appeared in several beach-party movies with Annette Funicello (including Beach Blanket Bingo), and ... appeared in Disc Jockey Jamboree (1957), Guns of the Timberland (1960), and The Carpetbaggers (1962).
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Frankie Avalon is spotted by a Chancellor Records Scouting artist, and is signed to a contract. His first record, Cupid. Frankie Avalon's first charted success is with the song Dede Dinah which hits #7.
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Frankie Avalon